The invention relates to an internal combustion engine system and an exhaust treatment unit for such a system.
The invention can be applied in heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, e.g., working machines. The invention can also be applied to cars. Although the invention will be described with respect to a truck, the invention is not restricted to this particular vehicle type.
It is known that internal combustion engines with two stages of compression and two stages of expansion, e.g. by a compressor, a combustor and an expander, may provide for reaching very high pressures and for extracting more energy from the fuel. An example of such an engine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,371,256. It is suggested therein that upon exiting an expander cylinder, the engine exhaust gases might be routed to an exhaust gas after treatment system. However, a highly efficient vehicle engine may have very cool tailpipe exhaust, which may prevent or reduce the efficiency of exhaust treatment processes provided by exhaust treatment devices such as catalytic converters of various types. For certain processes, e.g. selective catalytic reduction (SCR), it is possible to compensate for low temperatures by providing large exhaust treatment devices; however, this will increase the weight and volume of the engine system, which may be a problem, particularly in vehicles, where often there are demanding space requirements.
It is desirable to reduce emissions from a highly efficient internal combustion engine. It is also desirable to provide a highly efficient internal combustion engine system, which provides an effective treatment of exhaust gases, while avoiding large increases of the volume and/or weight of the engine system.
According to an aspect of the invention, an internal combustion engine system is provided comprising
a compressor arranged to compress air,
at least one combustor, at least one of the at least one combustor being arranged to receive the compressed air, and
an exhaust treatment device arranged to process exhaust gases produced by at least one of the at least one combustor,
characterized in that the system comprises a heat exchanger arranged to receive the compressed air from the compressor before it reaches the at least one of the at least one combustor, and that the heat exchanger is arranged to transfer heat from the compressed air to the exhaust treatment device.
The heat exchanger being arranged to transfer heat to the exhaust treatment device provides a solution to the problem of exhaust gas temperatures being too low for an effective exhaust treatment process. By drawing heat from the compressed air, and transferring this heat to the exhaust treatment device, the temperature of the exhaust treatment device may be increased to improve the process therein. Also, the invention makes it possible to avoid the need to compensate for low temperatures by increasing the size of the exhaust treatment device, and thereby increasing the weight and volume of the engine system.
It should be noted that the engine system may comprise more a plurality of compressors, combustors, and heat exchangers and exhaust treatment devices. Thereby, separate groups of the combustors may be each arranged to receive compressed air from a respective of the compressors. It should be noted in particular that a combustor which is arranged to receive the compressed air from a particular compressor, may or may not be a combustor which produces exhaust gases which a particular exhaust treatment device processes.
The invention is particularly advantageous where the engine system comprises an expander arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the at least one of the at least one combustor, and to expand and extract energy from the exhaust gases, the exhaust treatment device being arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the expander. The high efficiency provided by the expander will bring the exhaust gas temperature to a relatively low level. However, by the heat exchanger being arranged to transfer heat from the compressed air to the exhaust treatment device, the exhaust gas temperature may be brought to a level which benefits the exhaust treatment device process. For example, the expander contributing to a highly efficient engine may result in exhaust gases in the range of 50-250° C. However, where the exhaust treatment device is a typical catalyst for NOx reduction, such a device may not work under 150° C. and may not become fully efficient until the temperature has reached 250° C. If the compressor compresses air e.g. to a temperature of around 260° C., the transfer of heat from the compressed air may bring the exhaust treatment device temperature up so as for the device to become fully efficient. It should be noted that in preferred embodiments, the heat exchanger is arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the expander.
Any suitable heat exchanger type may be used. The heat exchanger is preferably a counterflow heat exchanger. However, in some embodiments, the heat exchanger may be a parallel flow heat exchanger.
The invention is particularly advantageous where the system comprises a crankshaft, and the expander comprises a piston, and is arrange to drive the crankshaft, since a very effective expansion of the exhaust gases may thereby be provided, providing very low exhaust gas temperature. As mentioned, the invention provides for effectively running an exhaust treatment device despite such low exhaust gas temperature.
The system may comprise an oil separator arranged to receive exhaust gases from the expander, and to separate oil from the exhaust gases before the exhaust gases reach the exhaust treatment device. Thereby, oil introduced to the exhaust gases, e.g. by the expanders, will be removed therefrom, avoiding or reducing detrimental effects it may have on the heat exchanger and/or post-expander exhaust treatment device.
In some embodiments, the heat exchanger is arranged to transfer the heat to the exhaust treatment device via the exhaust gases. Thereby, where the heat exchanger is arranged to receive the exhaust gases, and the exhaust treatment device is arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the heat exchanger, the heat from the compressed air may the effectively transferred to the exhaust treatment device. The exhaust treatment device may be located in a path of the exhaust gases, downstream of the heat exchanger.
In some embodiments, a direct heat transfer is provided by the heat exchanger from the compressed air to the exhaust treatment device. The heat exchanger and the exhaust treatment device may be integrated. Thereby, the heat exchanger may comprise a wall separating the air and the exhaust gases, and the exhaust treatment device may comprise an exhaust treatment layer on an exhaust gas side of the wall. Thus, an exhaust gas part of the heat exchanger may be coated with the exhaust treatment layer. The exhaust treatment layer may be a catalyst.
The integration which reduces the total volume of the combination of the heat exchanger and the exhaust treatment device. Also, the integration enhances the heat transfer, and may therefore serve to reduce the time to a “working catalyst” during a cold start procedure of the engine system. It should be noted that whilst the exhaust treatment device is arranged to receive the exhaust gases, the heat exchanger itself may or may not be arranged to receive the exhaust gases.
Preferably, said wall of the heat exchanger presents a plurality of protruding flanges on an air side of the wall. Such flanges will enhance the absorption of the wall of heat from the compressed air, for transfer of the heat to the exhaust treatment layer.
It should be noted that in some embodiments, the exhaust treatment device may comprise a first portion which is integrated with the heat exchanger and a second portion which is arranged to receive heat from the compressed air via exhaust gases received from the heat exchanger. Thereby an effective use of the heat exchanger and a beneficial distribution of the exhaust treatment device may be provided. The first portion may comprise an exhaust treatment layer on the exhaust gas side of the wall the heat exchanger, separating the air and the exhaust gases, and the second portion may comprise a further exhaust treatment element located in a path of the exhaust gases, downstream of the heat exchanger.
Said first portion of the exhaust treatment device may be an oxidation catalyst arranged to convert at least a portion of nitrogen monoxide (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and to oxidize oil and hydrocarbons (HC). The second portion may be an SCR catalyst. An injector may be arranged to inject reductant for the SCR catalyst between the first and second portions. In other embodiments the first portion may be an SCR catalyst and the second portion may be a further SCR catalyst. Thereby, an injector may be arranged to inject reductant upstream of the first portion, preferably in the vicinity of or into the expander. Regardless of whether the first and second portions are oxidation and SCR catalysts, respectively, or whether both portions are SCR catalysts, a coating of an ammonia slip catalyst (ASC) is preferably provided in the end of the second portion.
The invention is particularly beneficial where the exhaust treatment device comprises an oxidation catalyst, and/or a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst. Such catalysts may need a minimal exhaust gas temperature to work efficiently, and this is provided by the heat exchanger being arranged to transfer heat from the compressed air to the exhaust treatment device.
Where the exhaust treatment device comprises an SCR catalyst, the system preferably comprises an injector arranged to inject reductant for the SCR catalyst, upstream of the heat exchanger. Thereby, where the SCR catalyst is located downstream of the, such an arrangement of the injector may provide a good mixing of the reductant with the exhaust gases, before reaching the SCR catalyst.
Preferably, where the system comprises an expander arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the at least one of the at least one combustor, and to expand and extract energy from the exhaust gases, the exhaust treatment device is arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the expander, and the system comprises an injector arranged to inject the reductant for the SCR catalyst, upstream of the expander or into the expander.
Thereby, a particularly good mixing of the reductant with the exhaust gases may be provided. The injectors are preferably controllable by a control unit of the engine system, to control the timing, the flow and the duration of the redundant injections. Specifically, the timing and duration of the reductant injections may be coordinated with the actuations of one or more expander inlet valves, in order to enable good mixing of the reductant with the exhaust gases in the expander.
Preferably, the system is arranged so that during an operation thereof, the exhaust treatment device presents a temperature above 150° C., above preferably 250° C. As suggested above, this may secure an efficient process in the exhaust treatment device, e.g. where the latter comprises an SCR catalyst.
In some embodiments, the heat exchanger is a first heat exchanger, and the system further comprises a second heat exchanger arranged to receive the air from the first heat exchanger before it reaches the at least one of the at least one combustor, and to receive the processed exhaust gases from the exhaust treatment device, the second heat exchanger being arranged to allow heat to be exchanged between the air and the exhaust gases. Thereby, the system may allow, during an operation thereof, heat to be transferred in the second heat exchanger from the exhaust gases to the air. Thus, energy in the exhaust gases can be recovered by heating the intake air after the air has delivered heat, by means of the first heat exchanger, to the exhaust treatment device.
The second heat exchanger is preferably a counterflow heat exchanger. However, in some embodiments, the second heat exchanger may be a parallel flow heat exchanger.
Advantageously, the heat exchanger forms a buffer volume for the air.
The air buffer volume reduces or eliminates any requirements of correlation of the actuation timing of compressor outlet valves and combustor inlet valves 403 to avoid losses with pulsating flows. Thanks to the air buffer volume, such valve actuation timing correlation requirements may be relaxed without increasing the risk of pulsating flows. Thereby simpler and cheaper valve control systems may be employed.
Preferably, where the system comprises an expander arranged to receive the exhaust gases from the at least one of the at least one combustor, and to expand and extract energy from the exhaust gases, the system comprises in addition to said exhaust treatment device a pre-expander exhaust treatment device arranged to receive exhaust gases from the at least one of the at least one combustor, to provide an exhaust treatment process to the exhaust gases, and to deliver processed exhaust gases to the expander. The pre-expander exhaust treatment device may comprise an oxidation catalyst, and/or a particulate filter. Where both are provided, the particulate filter may be located downstream of the oxidation catalyst. The system may further be arranged so that during an operation thereof, the pre-expander exhaust treatment device presents a temperature which is considerably higher than the temperature of the exhaust treatment device to which the heat exchanger is arranged to transfer heat from the compressed air. Thereby, an advantageous distribution of exhaust treatment devices along the path of the exhaust gases may be provided, giving different temperatures which are each optimized for the respective exhaust treatment device.
It is understood that depending on the provision of the pre-expander exhaust treatment device, the expander is arranged to receive processed or unprocessed exhaust gases from the combustor. Exhaust gases are herein understood as being processed if they are received from an exhaust treatment device.
The invention is particularly advantageous where the system comprises a crankshaft, and the combustor comprises a piston arranged to reciprocate in a cylinder, and to drive the crankshaft. It is understood that the system may comprise a plurality of combustors, each comprising a piston arranged to reciprocate in a respective cylinder, whereby the piston are all arranged to drive the crankshaft.
Where an expander is provided as exemplified above, the expander is preferably a piston expander arranged to drive the crankshaft with the extracted energy. Similarly, the compressor may be a piston compressor, arranged to be driven by the crankshaft. Thus, the invention may be advantageously implemented in a multistage compression and expansion engine where the compressor(s) and the expanders are connected to the crankshaft. Such a connection may be direct or indirect, as exemplified below. Typically, the expanders may provide 30-50%, e.g. 40%, of the total power of the engine, and the compressor(s) may take 10-20% of the total power of the engine.
The invention may be advantageously implemented as an engine system, where the combustor comprises a fuel injector and is arranged to combust fuel and at least a portion of the received air in a Diesel cycle.
Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.